Page 38 - Agriculture

Tamil Nadu farmers demand govt to distribute sugarcane through ration shops

Sugarcane farmers of Tamil Nadu have demanded that the state government procure sugarcane directly from the farmers and distribute it through ration shops during Pongal

MSP for rice rise by 42.64%, wheat by 39% in 8 years of Modi govt: BJP MP

BJP MP Jagdambika Pal on Thursday said the minimum support price (MSP) for rice has increased by 42.64 per cent and that of wheat by 39 per cent in the eight years of the Narendra Modi government. Talking to reporters here, he said the procurement of food grains has increased in the last eight years. "From 2006 to 2014, the total procurement was 1,926 million tonnes and it increased to 2,273 million tonnes in the period between 2014 and 2022," he said. Pal said on the initiative of Prime Minister Modi, a proposal of India was supported by 72 countries and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared the year 2023 as International Year of Millet. "India is one of the leading producers of millet in the world with an estimated share of around 41 per cent in the global production. It is estimated that the millet market is set to grow from its current market value of more than USD 9 billion to over USD 12 billion by 2025," he said. He also said in the 2021-22 sugar season ...

Explore energy efficient pricing to reduce water waste: Parl panel to govt

Flagging rampant wastage of water in the agriculture sector, a parliamentary panel has recommended to the government to explore the option of having "energy efficient pricing" and said it may become an important tool for sustainable management of groundwater resources. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources, in its report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, pulled up the government over its response to an earlier suggestion of the panel on the issue. The panel said there is an urgent need to bring down the water consumption in the agriculture sector. It also said subsidized electricity and fertilizer had encouraged farmers to grow water-intensive crops even in the areas having water scarcity, and called for "institutional changes". The report stated the committee regrets to note that the action taken reply furnished by the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation is silent on the specific recommendation of the committee urging it to explo

Non-crop sector pulls the farm sector gross value added in Q2 of FY23

Absence of updated numbers raises some questions on non-crop estimates

Illegal colonies in Gurugram on agricultural land under DTCP lens

Dept of Town and Country Planning has issued notices to 16 people involved in developing illegal colonies in Sohna, Bhondsi, Rithoj, Pataudi, Farrukhnagar, Sultanpur in this satellite city of Haryana

J-K govt sets up panel to frame export promotion policy for agri products

The Jammu and Kashmir administration Thursday constituted an expert committee to frame a comprehensive export promotion policy to identify agricultural commodities in the Union Territory that can be exported. The main objective of the policy is to increase annual agricultural exports from Rs 190 crore currently to Rs 3,000 crore over the next five years, a senior officer said. "The primary assignment of the committee would be to develop commodity-specific export promotion recommendations which shall include strategic and operational aspects of the export and shall provide all necessary technical inputs to the agriculture production department within one month for finalization and implementation on the ground," he said. The policy would promote the brand "Jammu and Kashmir" for its pristine agro-climatic conditions, uniqueness and near-organic quality, the officer said. It would aim to bring a paradigm shift in the approach from mere harvesting and selling of produce at the local le

India eyes record rapeseed crop as high prices prompt farmers to plant more

Higher rapeseed production could help India, the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils, cut expensive overseas purchases of cooking oils that cost the country a record $18.9 billion

TN farmers demand annual de-silting of water bodies to increase storage

With most of the water bodies in Tamil Nadu not reaching their full capacity even during the monsoon season, farmers have demanded the state government to conduct annual desilting to increase storage

Agri budget rises to Rs 6.22 trn under Modi govt, says Prahlad Patel

Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Wednesday said the Centre has taken several steps for the growth of the farm sector and to boost farmers' income and highlighted that nearly Rs 6.22 lakh crore has been allocated in the Budget for agriculture sector during 2014-22. Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Prahlad Patel listed several steps taken by the Modi government in the interest of the farmers. According to a statement issued by the ministry, Patel informed that the agriculture budget stood at Rs 1,48,162.16 crore during the 2006-14 period while the budget allocation for the agri sector during 2014-22 reached Rs 6,21,940.92 crore. Under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, he said the Centre has provided Rs 2.16 lakh crore amount directly into bank accounts of eligible farmers. The Centre provides Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments under this scheme. Patel said that "reports released by various institutions clearly show that the total ...

Israel to consider cooperation in agriculture, tourism sectors with Kerala

Israel has expressed willingness to consider cooperation with Kerala in the sectors of agriculture and tourism. Consul General of Israel to South India, Tammy Ben Haim informed Chief Minister Pinarayi that they would favourably consider the possibilities of cooperation. The meeting was held at the chief minister's office here on Tuesday, an official statement said. Haim assured that she would discuss with the Ministry of Tourism in Israel to see how the cooperation in the tourism sector can be taken forward. The Consul General also assured to continue the official level talks in connection with the signing of MoU with Israel companies for the development of the value-added farm products. The CM welcomed the Consul General's assurance of cooperation, it said. During the meeting, Vijayan also recalled the long-standing relationship with Israel and mentioned the Synagogue in Kochi, a symbol of early Jewish settlement in the southern state, the statement added. In a tweet, Haim sai

USDA announces another climate-smart agriculture project worth $325 million

The federal government on Monday announced another $325 million for agricultural projects that are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The latest list of 71 recipients for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Climate-Smart Commodities programme primarily involve small and underserved farmers and ranchers. The payments follow $2.8 billion awarded in September to 70 projects, mostly larger-scale efforts backed by universities, businesses and agricultural groups. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the latest round of funding at Tuskegee University, a historically Black college in Alabama, saying it's vital that small operations benefit from the programme. It's important that we send a message that it's not about the size of your operation, that you don't only benefit from the programmes like this if you're a large-scale producer, Vilsack told The Associated Press. If you're a producer that historically has not been able to participate fully and completely in programmes at

Kinnow output in Punjab likely to drop by 25% amid shortage of water supply

Punjab, a major grower of kinnow crop in the country, is likely to witness at least a 25 per cent decline in the output of the citrus fruit even as the growers are fetching higher prices this season. The orchardists blame the acute short supply of canal water and unexpectedly higher temperature during the flowering stage of the crop for the lower yield early this year. Punjab is the largest producer of kinnow fruit in the country, with around 59,000 hectares of land under the crop and almost 12 lakh metric tonne of annual output. Harvesting of kinnow, a hybrid between king and willow leaf mandarins, starts in December and goes on till February-end in Punjab. Abohar is the leading district in the state, with a maximum area of 35,000 hectares under the kinnow crop. It is also grown in Hoshiarpur, Muktsar, Bathinda and some other districts, an official of the Punjab Horticulture department said. "There is going to be around 25 per cent drop in the production of kinnow this year," sai

Nano DAP might hit the market by the next kharif season, says official

Single superphosphate to be included in 'One Nation, One Fertiliser' scheme in the next few months

Will a warm winter affect India's agricultural output?

While this could mean some respite from the intense cold of North India, it could also harm the standing rabi crops if the temperature rise is unusual and abnormal.

Punjab agri minister Dhaliwal urges farm body KMSC to withdraw protest call

Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Wednesday urged representatives of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee to withdraw their protest call, assuring them that the state government is striving to resolve the issues of farmers. The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) had given a call to lay seize to all toll plazas in the state for a month starting December 15 and also 'gherao' the residences of ministers and AAP MLAs on December 12 in support of their various demands, including farm debt waiver and legal guarantee for minimum support price. After their meeting with the minister, Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary of KMSC, said the protest programme will remain as it is. However, he said a meeting of KMSC will be held on December 13 to consider all the issues. Agreeing with the demand of farmers, Dhaliwal said the Punjab government will write a letter to the union government for early resolution of farmers' issues. The minister said the state government has

Agriculture sector remains resilient; Rabi sowing off to strong start: RBI

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said the agriculture sector remains resilient, and the rabi sowing has got off to a strong start. However, India is expecting some moderation in kharif production due to uneven rainfall. India's total kharif crop production is estimated to moderate to 149.92 metric million tonnes (MMT) from 156.04 MMT in the previous kharif crop year, as per the first advance estimate. On the supply side, Das said, "The agricultural sector remains resilient. Rabi sowing got off to a strong start. The area sown so far is 6.8 per cent higher than the normal sown area (as on December 2, 2022)". Area sown to wheat has increased by 5.36 per cent year-on-year to 211.62 lakh hectares in the first two months of the ongoing rabi (winter) season, with higher coverage being reported in Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, according to the agricultural ministry data released on Friday. The sowing of wheat, the main rabi crop, begins in October and harvesting i

Agriculture, allied activities clock a buoyant 4.6% growth in 2nd quarter

Gross value added (GVA) for agriculture, forestry and fishing during the comparable period of last year was 3.2 per cent

Govt plans pilots on new direct benefit transfer model for fertilisers

Currently, the version of DBT in fertilisers involves farmers purchasing their fertilisers through point of sale (PoS) devices after undergoing Aadhaar authentication

Wheat, flour prices soar, expected to remain high till new crop arrives

In the past one month, prices of wheat and flour have soared by 5% and 4%, respectively, and commodity watchers expect them to remain high till the new crop arrives

India eyes bumper wheat harvest in 2023 as record price lead to more sowing

The surge in wheat prices is despite the ban on exports of the grain, indicating a far bigger drop in this year's output